Arifin raises to the tough U.S. challenge

Arifin raises to the tough U.S. challenge

By Yenni Djahidin

WASHINGTON D.C. (JP): He is regarded as a good diplomat by
many in Washington, D.C. He is bright, articulate and willing to
listen to different views. A banker by training, Indonesian
Ambassador to the United States Arifin Siregar says he likes his
job, which he describes as challenging.

The former trade minister and central bank governor said that,
although relations between Indonesia and the United States are
good, some issues have damaged the ties.

"The political contribution issue is very disturbing to our
good relationship," said Siregar, who loves reading, jogging, and
watching old war movies. Issues like East Timor, human rights and
democracy have continued to undermine bilateral ties, he said.

His ambassadorship since 1993 is his third U.S. posting. He
previously worked as an economist at the United Nations, followed
by four years at the International Monetary Fund in Washington,
D.C.

"We like Washington. We have a nice place and we have lots of
friends here," said Arifin, who has two adult sons. Arifin, who
speaks four foreign languages, said his networking with
Washington contacts has helped in his job as ambassador.

Ambassador Arifin, who got his doctorate in economics with
magna cum laude from Munster University in Germany, recently
spoke with Media Indonesia's Washington correspondent Yenni
Djahidin at his office to discuss the current state of
Indonesian-U.S. relations. Here are excerpts of the interview.

Question: How do you describe relations between the U.S. and
Indonesia?

Arifin: For the last four or five years, the relationship
between the U.S. and Indonesia has been good as can be seen from
trade figures. In 1996, two-way trade reached $10.2 billion, with
Indonesia exporting $8.2 billion and importing $4 billion. So,
Indonesia had a surplus. American investment has been increasing
in the past few years. American businesspeople have shown a
growing interest in Indonesia, as reflected by their questions,
their presence at our business seminars, and many trade missions
to Indonesia. They are mostly interested in infrastructure,
telecommunications and transportation.

In politics, the relationship is also good as reflected from
the close personal relations between President Soeharto and
President Bill Clinton. In 1995, they met in the White House and
have met again at the annual APEC summits. They usually have a
good discussion. We, at the embassy here, also try to make
Americans understand Indonesia. Americans tend to focus their
interest on certain countries, and Indonesia is not one of them.

Lately, there have been more articles about Indonesia, but
unfortunately since the beginning of the American presidential
campaign last year, several unfortunate things have happened.

First, the campaign finance issue where media reports said the
Riady family, through former Lippo Group official John Huang,
allegedly gave money to influence the Clinton administration.
That, of course, was used by certain groups who have a negative
view on Indonesia's human rights situation, particularly in East
Timor. They said the administration policy is weak toward
Indonesia because of the contributions. As a result, many
Americans, especially from the administration, are careful in
making decisions on Indonesia. This is very disturbing to the
relationship.

Around the same time, before the end of 1996, the Nobel Peace
Prize was awarded to East Timorese activists Bishop Belo and Jose
Ramos-Horta. This, of course, was used by groups who dislike
Indonesia to focus attention on East Timor, especially on
Indonesia's human rights records.

These developments are very disturbing and we have done
numerous things to try to explain the situation. We have also
tried to persuade the administration staff, congress, the mass
media, think tanks and NGOs.

We also work together with Americans, who we think of as our
friends or have an interest in Indonesia, such as American
companies. We emphasize that for a good relationship between the
U.S. and Indonesia, it's best to have a good political
relationship. We hope that businesspeople will try to give
accurate information to their representatives in congress and to
the administration and think tanks. That's very important.

The American media are different. Every media has its own
policy. We have responded to articles that are not completely
true. We have sent letters to newspaper editors, but some papers
would not publish our letter if the content was not in accordance
with their policy. Or if they published the letter, they would
make changes the way they wanted. But overall, I see some
significant changes in the press. They are not always negative.
They also write about developments in Indonesia. There are some
attempts at balance now, although they remain unbalanced when it
comes to human rights and democracy.

Q: How do you give information to Americans about Indonesia?

A: In different forms. I give speeches at universities, think
tanks, and business associations. I have had lunch with think
tank staff and Congressional staff, and visited them. We have
also invited several Congressmen to Indonesia. In early August,
President Soeharto will receive Craig Thomas, a senator from the
Asia-Pacific subcommittee. We also arrange cultural evenings
where we invite politicians and the press.

Q: How will the Lippo issue affect relations between U.S. and
Indonesia?

A: One important question is how long this campaign finance
hearing will last. As you know, this hearing is conducted every
day. The media always mention John Huang and Lippo. Not only the
administration but also Congress wants to keep it low-key to
Indonesia. During the hearings, the administration and congress
will be very careful in making any statement about Indonesia.

Q: Do you think relations with the U.S. Administration after
President Clinton will be any better?

A: I don't know. That's hard to say. But I can say that when the
hearings are finished, maybe the situation will be improved. But
we don't know when the hearings will finish. I think it may last
until the end of this year or early next year. This issue of
Indonesian contributions and influence has also spread to other
areas. Reports have also tried to link James Riady and the U.S.-
Indonesian Society.

Q: What are the embassy's priorities now?

A: Our priority is that we have to convince our friends that
Indonesia is an important country. There are improvements in our
economic and political relationships. We try to convince them
that Indonesia has many aspects. But because of the advanced
technology, people here know what happens in Indonesia within a
couple of hours. So, we can't cover up what happened there,
especially when it is linked to human rights violations.

Q: How do you react to criticism at home that Indonesian
diplomats are not aggressive?

A: It depends. Many people forget that Americans know very
quickly what happens in Indonesia. So when something happens in
Indonesia, we cannot deny it. The only thing we can do is justify
why things happened. Whether it is the East Timor case or (labor
activist) Muchtar Pakpahan. We have explained it to them but they
say, "Okay, in development you have shown progress. But you've
problems with human rights. Is this democracy?" We have tried to
justify this. For example, in the Sri Bintang (Pamungkas) case,
we told them that he was arrested because he was defaming
President Soeharto. But they said that Bintang was arrested
because he has a different view from the government. And in the
States, they said, it is normal if someone has a different view
from the government. So it's difficult to explain to them that we
have a different culture.

Q: How do you explain the difference?

A: They said for them it (having a different opinion) is not
breaking the law. They said Indonesian law is weird. If we say
it's in accordance with our law, they say the law is weird. Why,
they ask, should someone with a different view end up in jail?
They also have a different view on democracy and human rights.

Q: What's the attitude of American businesspeople toward the
issue of leadership succession and the violence during the
national elections recently?

A: They are still confident. American businesspeople trust the
development of Indonesia, especially in the government's
macroeconomic policy. My task is to tell them that whatever
happens, even when there is a leadership succession, whoever
leads Indonesia, its basic development policy will not change.
The basic policy is that the private sector role will be bigger,
government intervention in the economy will be reduced, more
deregulations and cooperation with foreigners is still important.
Maybe there will be adjustments here and there, but the
adjustments will not be significant.

American businesspeople have confidence in long-term
development in Indonesia. The only thing that hampers the
relationships are human rights and democracy issues. I have to
explain why it's happened. After the cold war, American foreign
policy priority changed. Before, it was fighting communism.
That's no longer a factor. The most important issues now are
human rights, democracy and the environment. So, if we can't
reach an agreement on those issues, let us highlight other issues
such as economic and political issues to tell them that Indonesia
is an important country in the region.

Q: What are you plans after your term here ends?

A: Personally, I want to go into the private sector. The
government wanted me to extend my service here. My term was
extended by one year in 1996. Before serving here, I had planned
to join the private sector. I have told the government about my
intention and I heard that they are now preparing my successor.
If allowed, I will go home in November.

Q: How would you describe your term here?

A: There are lots of challenges. I like my job, although the
campaign contributions and East Timor issues are very disturbing.
The East Timor issue is not only straining relations between
Indonesia and the U.S., but also with many other Western
countries, like Australia and Japan. As a diplomat, I tried to
give a balanced and positive view, but don't forget that people
here know what happens in Indonesia very quickly. We can't cover
it up. We can only justify why things happened.

Q: How do you think the problem will be resolved?

A: It's very difficult to solve. We have to solve it in
Indonesia. As long as the East Timor issue is not settled, our
relationship with the U.S. and many western countries will always
be disturbed.

Q: What do you think your successor should do?

A: I think he or she should maintain good relations with various
groups, such as the business community, think tanks, congress,
the press and the administration. I know the most difficult one
is the press.